Property taxpayers in the North Crawford School District will feel the impacts of two major things that determined the 2025-26 district budget. The first, a revenue limit increase in the state budget with no corresponding increase in general school aid to offset the increase. The second is the 12.5% increase in equalized value of property in the district.
Equalized value in the school district varies by municipality, but on average, property taxpayer’s school district portion will increase by $42 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
“The district's revenue limit this year increased for two reasons, one of those being the state of Wisconsin approved an additional $325 per student in revenue limit authority this year. That was through the governor's line item veto two years ago, and it was upheld, upheld by the State Supreme Court. And then the other component to that is the district is bringing on our last installment, $150,000 of additional operational revenue from our recurring referendum that was approved three years ago,” North Crawford Superintendent Brandon Munson explained to the board. “So, while the state increased our revenue limits by $325 per student, they did not add any new general school aid dollars to the budget this year, which I would say is historic. They have not done that before. Normally, what happens at the state level is, anytime the state increases revenue limit authority, they backfill that with more general aid dollars to mitigate tax increases statewide. They did not do that this biennium.”
North Crawford received about $350,000 less in state aid this year, and that money was shifted over to the levy to fill that gap.
Munson said that 71% of the school districts across Wisconsin received less state aid this year compared to last year. Only 29% of districts in Wisconsin received the same or more state aid this year.
“The other thing that will impact property taxes is that we're becoming more property wealthy in the district, but we're declining in enrollment based on a three-year rolling average,” Munson explained. “So, what happens is that makes it look like our students are worth more dollars per student, because our assessed value is higher, our enrollment is lower, so our students become worth more.”
Munson said that four years ago, in 2022 the district’s membership was 441, which dropped to 437 in 2023, and 418 in 2024. He said that this year, membership ticked back up a little bit to 422.
“In the eyes of the state, we are still considered a declining enrollment district. And you might look at that and say, well, but we're not, we actually went up,” Munson said. “That's the three-year average piece to this. If you average that out, the aid formula looks at your three-year average, and we are declining enrollment this year with that three-year average, by eight members. I anticipate we'll see one more year of declining enrollment, and then I think we'll level off after that, because our average catches up.”
What can you do?
Superintendent Munson, in his presentation to the school board prior to passage of the 2025-26 district budget, included a slide of things impacted property tax payers can do. Those include:
• If you feel your property was improperly assessed, you can appeal that decision to your municipality to reconsider your assessment.
• Contact your local representatives and the Governors office to ask why they did not approve any new General Aid in the new biennial budget, resulting in local taxes increasing. Encourage your representatives to pass a state budget in the future that supports local public schools, but is also taxpayer friendly. Both of these things can, and have been done.
- State Representative Travel Tranel Rep.Tranel@legis.wisconsin.gov
- State Senator Howard Marklein Sen.Marklein@legis.wi.gov
- Governor Tony Evers 608-266-1212
• Maintain perspective. Investing in your local public school is still a great investment for the future growth and health of our communities. Without a strong public school district, the quality of our communities begins to decline, people move out, and property values decrease.
Board updates
North Crawford Elementary Principal Amanda Killeen reports that K-5th grade teachers are working intensively with students, using data, to focus on English Language Arts (ELA) skills, and address any gaps that are showing up.
In 2nd-5th grade math, teachers are focusing on learning to tell time, understanding area and relating it to multiplication and addition, and intensively assessing any learning gaps still manifesting in 5th grade mathematical skills.
In Elementary, their ‘Pathways to Progress’ focus is helping teachers and students track growth and identify next steps in learning with confidence, making students active partners in learning. Students graph their own progress, mark off completed standards, and collect evidence of mastery in portfolios.
The Early Learning Center (Daycare) is at full capacity for all age groups, and has a waiting list for all age groups. With four-year-old students who will start 4K next school year, assessments are taking place to make sure those students are on track.
The Middle School WIN (What I Need) project is off and running, with completion of the first ‘data dig,’ to group students by specific learning needs and track progress over time. The WIN structure provides dedicated time for intervention and enrichment in both reading and math, allowing students to receive the support or challenge they need during the regular school day.
High school launched a new support system during homeroom, focused on math and ELA skill reinforcement. Students are handpicked based on academic data and teacher recommendations to receive targeted small-group instruction from support staff and classroom teachers.
High school students in grades 9-12 received a presentation from Southwest Technical College about the various ways they can earn college credit, while still in high school. Those include Start College Now, Dual Credit college credits in high school, and the Youth Apprenticeship Program.
Career & Technical Education programs continue to grow, with several exciting projects now underway. Budgets have been finalized for all three external funding sources beyond district allocations, and purchases are actively occurring to support new initiatives and equipment across multiple programs. In the coming months, keep an eye out for updates on the construction of a new greenhouse storage facility, new additions to the Fab Lab, and the creation of two new school stores designed to give students real-world experience in business management, marketing, and production.
Student Services has welcomed Megan Torgerson to their staff to work with high needs students in the elementary grades.
Transportation continues to wait to hear back from EPA about transferring their application for electric school bus funding to Bluebird – the government shutdown is likely slowing this process down.
Foodservice reports that meal participation for September 2025 increased by 19.1% compared to September 2024 — that’s 1,667 more meals served. The department also learned that some high school students were skipping breakfast because they felt too rushed in the morning. Dr. Sailer approved a change allowing students to take breakfast to their classrooms, and it’s made a big difference — more students are starting their day with a healthy meal.
In other business
In other business, the board:
• approved a Senior Class Trip for March 27-30, 2026 to Minneapolis, with Jennifer Kapinus as the advisor
• approved a Band Trip for June 7-11, 2027 to Niagara Falls and Toronto, with Derrik Junker as the advisor
• approved Chris Wettstein as head coach for boys basketball, with Devlin Smith as assistant coach, and Mark Dull and John Powell as middle school coaches
• approved Jeremy Fradette as head coach for girls basketball, with the positions of assistant and middle school coaches remaining TBD
• approved Eric and Adam Hady as head coach and assistant coach for wrestling, with Jordan Keegan as middle school coach - editor’s note – since the October board meeting, the Hadys have stepped back after 11 years, and Al and Sam Morovits have volunteered to take over.
